tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23721613607564713992018-05-23T17:54:04.741+10:00The Aspiring WriterWords from a writer/editor/word-nerd.Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-6460261119194272662018-02-03T08:13:00.001+11:002018-02-03T08:32:09.915+11:00Official website!<p dir="ltr">Last week, I finished setting up my official website for freelance editing. I'm pretty excited. I set up a custom domain name and fiddled around with the design template until I was happy with the way it looked. And now it's live! Check it out:</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="http://bonneecrawfordediting.com.au">bonneecrawfordediting.com.au</a> </p><p dir="ltr">I'm hoping other people like it as much as I do. Setting up this freelance gig has been a really healthy distraction from the terrible end to 2017, while I try to push myself back into a normal routine. In other words, I've put a lot of effort into this and I think it will pay off. </p><p dir="ltr">The most exciting part of all has been working with my first client. Her novella is amazing and we are having a great time fine-tuning the structure and content. </p><p dir="ltr">I'll keep things short and leave it at that for now. I hope everyone out there in the blogosphere is doing well with their writing, revising, editing, new years resolutions ... And whatever other goals you are currently pursuing. </p><p dir="ltr">Peace out! <br>- Bonnee. </p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-64477164872614055282018-01-22T21:21:00.001+11:002018-01-22T21:47:48.100+11:00When it Rains it Pours<p dir="ltr">Whoever made up that saying, 'When it rains, it pours' ... Well, they weren't kidding. 2017 ended with a crash and a whimper, but for context let me take you back ...&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr">My mum had been struggling with her health all year. She'd had weeks off work with bronchitis, she'd had a weight loss surgery in August, found out she had chronic liver failure, she'd developed serious lymphadima in her legs, and gone into hospital with a cellulitis infection. We didn't think it could get much worse. But it did. </p><p dir="ltr">My mother was admitted to hospital in mid November because she suddenly experienced acute multiple organ failure. She spent four weeks in Intensive Care with some of the most wonderful, kind and compassionate doctors in the world. She passed away peacefully in her sleep two weeks before Christmas. </p><p dir="ltr">My sister and I organised a funeral and we spent a very solemn Christmas with our aunties. </p><p dir="ltr">It still doesn't feel real. But then it hits me all at once.</p><p dir="ltr">I was hoping for 2018 to be better but do far the odds are not in my favour. The only good thing that's come of this is that I found a healthy distraction from the sorrow. I set myself up for freelance editing--something I'd mentioned to my mum early last year and she'd been nagging me to hurry up and do it ever since. </p><p dir="ltr">So that has been a crappy few months. I'm hoping everyone else's Christmas / New Year / Holiday Season was better. </p><p dir="ltr">I'm going to try and be more active here again and hopefully I'll think of something more uplifting for my next post. </p><p dir="ltr">Much love, <br>Bon. <br></p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-32385387274816788332017-10-14T18:11:00.001+11:002017-10-14T18:11:43.123+11:00Click Save<p dir="ltr">I made myself <i>soooooo mad </i>this week by being an absolute dumbarse. Now I must share this frustration with you. </p><p dir="ltr">I got a good couple of lines of poetry stuck in my brain one night and saved it in the notes on my phone so that I wouldn't forget. So far, so good. </p><p dir="ltr">At work the next day, there was a bit of idle time between calls so I thought I'd have a crack at making something from the two lines I'd thought of. Now, for some dumb reason Google Docs, Drive and Gmail got blocked at my work a couple of months back even though all the contractors like me have a work email THROUGH GMAIL. Anyway, I'm used to using Google Docs if I'm writing in a browser, but I had to find something else to use since it was blocked at work. I ended up settling on <a href="http://www.calmlywriter.com/online/">Calmly Writer</a>, which I kinda love. </p><p dir="ltr">I put together a couple of stanzas I was happy with (I won't say it was good, I'm sure it was terrible). And then the phones got busy so I minimised the browser and forgot about it. Then at the end of my shift, I closed the browser out of habit ...</p><p dir="ltr">Without saving the damn poetry. </p><p dir="ltr">I realised my mistake, but alas, it was too late. This app does not auto-save like Google Docs. My (terrible) poetry was gone.&#160; </p><p dir="ltr"><b>In memory of writing lost, please share your saving failures and tales of writing long gone. </b></p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-19724535454832302062017-10-08T20:54:00.001+11:002017-10-08T20:54:40.165+11:00Review: 'Ida' by Alison EvansI'm trying to get back into reading things. I seem to 'stop reading for a long time' too often, and I really need to cut that out. The book I've finished most recently is actually by someone I went to uni with. <i><a href="http://www.echopublishing.com.au/titles/ida/" target="_blank">Ida</a> </i>is the debut novel of the wonderful Alison Evans, who I initially met in my first year of uni (I believe they were doing Honours at that point) at an open mic reading night and then never saw again ... until later that same year, when we started talking on the NaNoWriMo forums, which lead to messaging each other privately to continue our discussion, not realising that we'd met previously until we'd been talking for a week or two.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7NI1sm1gko/Wdnz_7AtCqI/AAAAAAAABF0/ipKfUYDAQb8bHoaXq-gXRJRTmIEk9sVDACLcBGAs/s1600/Ida.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1017" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7NI1sm1gko/Wdnz_7AtCqI/AAAAAAAABF0/ipKfUYDAQb8bHoaXq-gXRJRTmIEk9sVDACLcBGAs/s400/Ida.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><div><div><i>Ida </i>was a roller-coaster to read. In terms of genre, it is best described as queer sci-fi YA/New Adult. Admittedly, I haven't experienced much queer literature before, and I haven't been a sci-fi reader until recently. So this book was refreshing to say the least. The main character, Ida, has the power to go back in time ... or so she thinks. She uses this power to get herself out of sticky or confronting scenarios, make different choices to achieve different outcomes, and does it almost automatically in certain situations. But she's starting to notice that her powers aren't quite what she thought they were, and she isn't as alone in her abilities as she first believed. But the excessive use of her powers has started having drastic repercussions, and they need to be remedied before it's too late.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>I really loved the way the book was written, especially the description of each time Ida uses her powers. The setting had me smiling to myself the whole time; the book is set in the Dandenong Ranges area, where I love to go for bushwalks in real life. It also includes a trip into Melbourne city and the National Gallery of Victoria. I haven't really read anything set so close to home and the familiarity was really enjoyable the whole way through. It also made me realise that what little reading I do does not include enough books by Australian authors, which is something I want to fix.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Something else I really loved about the book was the natural incorporation of diversity. I felt it was a very accurate representation of the Melbourne-diversity that I know and love, especially in terms of race, gender identity and sexuality. I loved that these points of diversity were so masterfully woven into the text, rather than treating it like a big deal that the main character is bisexual or that her love interest is genderqueer. I love that this book wasn't <i>about </i>their diversity. It was about the things going on in the lives of these characters, just like with any other book. I love that <i>Ida </i>normalises that idea and I wish more books did.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ida </i>was a perfect balance of funny, serious, and a little bit scary. Although my favourite quote was about the main character being able to emotionally relate to a lemon, I promise that while it made me laugh, it was also VERY STRESSFUL because I was really worried about the fate of the characters. So if you're in the mood for a book by an Australian author, full of suspense, spookiness, and great characters, look for <i>Ida </i>by Alison Evans.&nbsp;</div></div><div><br /></div><div>That's me for now. What have you been reading lately?</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-1365359896486635942017-09-23T21:04:00.001+10:002017-09-29T13:22:46.748+10:00Mother! Rantview<p dir="ltr">I recently went to a cinema screening of the film <i>Mother! </i>directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem and I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT IT. </p><p dir="ltr">It was an interesting film to watch. I saw it with another writer friend on a whim and my only knowledge of the film was a short trailer I'd seen the week before. Conceptually, it was phenomenal. I get why a lot of mainstream movie-goers wouldn't like it; it's very out there and seems to have been promoted as a thriller without an art house-style disclaimer. But for me, a writer with a literary theory fetish, it was intriguing. </p><p dir="ltr">Jennifer Lawrence plays a woman who has rebuilt the wreckage of her lover's house from the literal ashes. Her lover, played by Javier Bardem, is a poet caught in the clutches of severe writers block. Easy for my friend and I to relate to at the start. They seem to occupy a fragile paradise, but one night a man knocks on their door claiming he thought it was a bed and breakfast. The audience sees a glimmer of how fucked up the dynamics between these characters is when the poet invites this stranger to stay without consulting his partner and despite her very obvious discomfort. </p><p dir="ltr">After a strange night, the stranger's wife shows up. She's a nosey bitch to say the least, presumptuous and disrespectful towards Jennifer Lawrence's character in an almost deliberate fashion. Things get messier quickly after she arrives, with she and her husband entering the poet's study in secret and accidentally breaking something very precious. Then it escalates. Like, their kids suddenly show up and someone is murdered kind of escalating. And my god does it enter the territory of surrealism after that. </p><p dir="ltr">I don't want to just give a recap of the film. It was good and I think it's worth watching. What I want to do is explain the feelings I had about it. First, that I loved it. The acting was great. The cinematography was exceptional. It was thematically complex and engaging. On the surface, it was a film about a couple who had their fragile paradise disturbed by strangers and the burdens they brought. It was about the tension that created and the way that played on their relationship and the poet's writers block. Deeper down, we get a subtext about the idea of the writer as The Creator. We get a feel of the writer's ego when the poet overcomes his writers block and creates something beautiful. But he is also the dictator and the supposedly higher being of the world of the film. </p><p dir="ltr">And this is the part that really got to me. The film was sensational. I really enjoyed it. For the most part. But it got under my skin for one reason. Throughout the film, it was painfully obvious that the poet held a complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of Jennifer Lawrence's character. As did every other character. But the way the poet treated her ... with such disregard, such carelessness, and such undeserving entitlement ... that was sickening. And it got worse and worse as the film went on. </p><p dir="ltr">The part that really got to me was when they were arguing and she challenged him, 'You can't even fuck me', after enduring endless criticism from the strangers who stayed with them about not having children. It got to me because in response he pins her again a wall and starts passionately kissing her. And her initial response was to push him away. She didn't want him to get intimate with her at that point. She was angry and had every right to be. But then the anger melts away, after her attempts at resistance prove futile. The anger melts away and they make love. </p><p dir="ltr">This pisses me off. A lot. Because not only is it a cliche, it is also a cliche that promotes sexual violence. I'm sick of seeing films and tv shows and reading books where someone starts making out with someone against their will, and then it turns it into a steamy, beautiful moment of love. It's not romantic. It's fucking abusive. And it validates the same type of underhanded abuse that gets played out in the real world.&#160; </p><p dir="ltr"><i>Mother! </i>was impressive and enthralling in it's thematic content, acting, and cinematic direction. And I can deal with being labelled one of those arseholes who likes art house films. It was a weird film, but I liked it. But I cannot get past this shortcoming. I cannot get past the idea that there is no redemption, no saving grace following the excessive violence and disrespect towards Jennifer Lawrence's character, but a feeble illusion of one I could see right through. It did nothing for me. And others can argue as much as they want that 'oh, it was making a point about the patriarchy' and 'but it was an allegory about how people treat the earth' and 'there was a biblical subtext'. There was also an inherently violent, sexist subtext. And while it did not portray it in a positive light, it also offered no solution. It did not overcome the problem it highlighted. </p><p dir="ltr">People describe it as 'confronting' and then justify it using the subtext about creative people and egos and the way people treat mother earth. But this excuses nothing. It doesn't make this behaviour okay, even in a film. It's aweful. And I do not have to be okay with it just because it was otherwise a good movie. </p><p dir="ltr">I apologise for this rant, especially for anyone who hasn't seen the film yet. I needed to get some rage off my chest. </p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-87955146646697869652017-09-16T18:15:00.001+10:002017-09-16T18:15:23.815+10:00A long way to the topI've been pretty down the last few months (by which I mean, since 2017 began). Between toxic people in my life and the struggles of securing a job in the arts industry when you've just graduated, it's been a tough time. I've reached out for help, and kicked myself into gear to try to get out of the slump. Slowly, it's been working. I managed to remove some of the more toxic people from my day to day life and I started to find some validity in my job, even if it isn't in my preferred industry. But some bigger things needed to change, so I got thinking, and I've made some bigger decisions.<br /><br />I chose to take a break from university. I withdrew from the one unit I was enrolled in a week before the census date so that it wouldn't affect my academic record. I can take this break for up to twelve months, but to be perfectly honest ... I have no intention of completing the Masters I am enrolled in. Although half of it was credited on account of my Honours degree, it was still going to take me two years to complete what was left at the pace I was going. Frankly, it seems to be a repeat of my undergrad, with perhaps a little extra detail and longer essays. In the long run, I don't think the stress or the student debt is worthwhile unless I'm taking away something more. After my twelve month intermission, I might do a course transfer into communications or marketing--IF I choose to continue study. Masters was never part of my plan, so I am not upset at the idea of dropping it altogether. It doesn't feel like quitting. It isn't. It just wasn't supposed to be from the start and maybe that's okay. I guess the only reason I didn't outright withdraw from the course was because I can still work on the student magazine as long as I keep my place in a course, even if I'm not enrolled in a unit. <br /><br />I started teaching myself a little bit of design. I've never been able to get the hang of Adobe programs like Photoshop or InDesign, so I thought I'd try something a little more basic. I created a free account with Canva online and I've been experimenting with magazine designs using some of their pre-made templates and articles saved on my laptop from editing with <i>WORDLY</i>. Just for practice, of course, until I get the hang of it. One of my friends who is a bit of a designer herself gave me some really positive feedback on the attempt I showed her. We might start a little zine together, just for fun. I'm hoping that with a bit of practice using Canva, I'll be able to upgrade to InDesign and actually be able to include it as a skill on my resume; it's something a lot of the jobs I've been looking at want from their applicants.<br /><br />I also intend to apply for an ABN (Australian Business Number) really soon, so that I can start freelance editing, and maybe freelance writing. I don't really know how that will go, considering how competitive and small the industry is in Australia. But hopefully, with a few testimonials and a domain name, I'll be able to get the idea off the ground. I know it's going to be an uphill battle, but I'd rather try and try and try than sit back and let myself be miserable at a call centre forever.<br /><br />And of course, I need to start looking for a job in my field, at least until I can get freelancing to work for me (and I know there's no guarantee that will happen). Because, again, I have to try to make my dreams come true rather than sit back and let myself be miserable at a call centre forever.<br /><br />Granted, the call centre isn't so bad when I put aside the fact that it's not the industry I did a degree to end up in, and I feel like I've gotten a really good grip on what I'm doing there recently. I've had a lot of good feedback from the members who call in, especially for cover reviews and hospital enquiries. Private health insurance is complicated, but I'm being told that I'm good at explaining how it all works and being thorough in the information I give. It still makes me feel pretty good when they take a moment to genuinely thank me at the end of a long call. It makes it worthwhile to endure all the people who call up just to yell at someone for no real reason ... I only wish the pay was a little more substantial.<br /><b><br /></b><b>How do you deal with the struggles of making it as a writer or editor? What decisions did you have to make to try and make things work?&nbsp;</b>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-76513260656144179262017-07-30T21:38:00.001+10:002017-07-30T21:38:54.531+10:00Spreadsheets for life<p dir="ltr">Although I predominantly work with Microsoft Word as a writer and editor, I'm surprised by how often I end up using Excel spreadsheets. I started using them to organise submissions for<i> WORDLY </i>when I was editor-in-chief and used it on <i>Verandah </i>when I was submissions manager and secretary. It was an excellent way to keep track of things--who submitted what, their contact details, how many editors gave feedback, which editors were assigned to which piece and at which stage, whether or not editing tasks were completed&nbsp; ... I had a beautiful colour coded list system going on to keep track of everything in one place. </p><p dir="ltr">I kinda miss the mayhem of putting those spreadsheets together. I miss the satisfaction and relief of entering that last set of submission details or colour coding the final green box to signify that all the edits were complete. </p><p dir="ltr">I have stayed in the habit of using spreadsheets to keep track of rent and utility bills from month to month, which is especially important in a share house like mine. But for a little while now I've been wanting to find a way to incorporate it back into my writing and editing life. </p><p dir="ltr">Recently, I did a little clean up of my laptop. I deleted many dank memes and screen shots ... and I stumbled upon some really old stuff I wrote way back in high school. Gosh, some of it was terrible.&nbsp; But once I got my dedicated writing folder organised and separated the scrap pile from things that had potential, I decided to take an extra step and make a spreadsheet. </p><p dir="ltr">I'm going to use this spreadsheet to record writing opportunities and keep track of my submission habits. More importantly, I'm going to use the spreadsheet to make a habit of submitting and holding myself accountable when I don't. The spreadsheet is also going to help me keep track of the submissions--when they're under consideration, being edited, rejected, accepted and published. There's often such a long time between submitting and hearing back that sometimes I forget what I've sent out and where.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr">I have been a terribly lazy writer lately. I'm hoping this will help to kick my creative juices into gear. </p><p dir="ltr">How do you motivate yourself to write?&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr">Bonnee. </p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-83474018329497520112017-07-22T21:23:00.000+10:002017-07-22T21:23:01.385+10:00Weekend BluesI've got a case of the weekend blues that started on Friday morning, when I woke up to the news that Linkin Park's lead singer Chester Bennington had taken his own life. Admittedly, I hadn't listened to any of their music for a long time, but a few years ago a number of their songs were the anthem of an angry, stifled, rebellious teenage me, who was still trying to figure out how the hell she was supposed to fit into this world. Songs like 'Numb', 'In the End', and 'One Step Closer' were the tunes I turned to in my darkest hours, the ones I blasted through my headphones when I wanted to block out the rest of the world. Chester's voice resided on a playlist of other loud, angry music on my iPod, and on a mixed tape my first boyfriend made for me. I stood in the crowd in front of their stage at Soundwave in 2013, surrounded by people who were too tall for me to really see past, but we were all singing along.<br /><br />All day on Friday, I read posts from other bands paying tribute to Chester and urge anyone who was struggling to reach out and talk to someone, anyone, because suicide is not the answer. My heart feels heavy just thinking about this.<br /><br />I've been trying to make an effort to list three positive things at the end of every day to help keep my mood in check. It's worth doing just to make sure I'm not always focusing on the bad things, even though they often seem more frequent and severe than the good. I've been doing it for about two weeks now, but on Friday, after dealing with Rest in Peace posts all day, I really struggled to find three good things to list about that day. I ended up trying to focus on the simple, small things that made the day a little brighter: I had a rostered day off work, I went for a long walk in the nearby park lands, and my partner came home early from work.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yZIummTz9mM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yZIummTz9mM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><br />Though I am saddened by Chester's passing, once we acknowledge the tragedy and urge others who are suffering in silence to reach out for help, and offer condolences to those who knew him ... I would rather celebrate his life, the greatness he achieved, and the amazing music he shared with us, than only remember him as a man who hung himself.<br /><br />This weekend, I am listening to Linkin Park even though I haven't done so in a couple of years. I'm also thinking about Chester, the pain he must have been in, the way he must have felt and the things he must have thought in the time leading up to his passing. I turned to this man's voice in some of my darkest moments because those lyrics rang true to me, like this stranger understood how I felt. I wish there was something, anything I could have offered in return to help him too.Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-88154618800568093812017-07-09T17:21:00.001+10:002017-07-09T17:21:14.589+10:00Writing prompt: there is no exitI stumbled upon a <a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2017/07/07/flash-fiction-challenge-there-is-no-exit/" target="_blank">flash fiction challenge over on Chuck Wendig's blog</a> and thought it might be a good opportunity for me to try and kick my creative juices into gear. So here it goes ... this one is based on an experience I had a couple of years ago.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>Prompt: there is no exit.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="MsoNormal">The sound as I slid into the back of the Nissan was not as deafening as I had expected. I tried to change lanes at the last second, when I realised the wet road wouldn’t allow me to stop in time, but the decision to yank my steering wheel to the left occurred a moment too late. <i>Thunk</i>. My little Daewoo stalled. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, sinking into my seat. I pressed the button for my hazard lights. The traffic on the Ringwood Bypass continued to flow around me while I restarted the engine and pulled off the road. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The Nissan driver was a middle aged man and his wife was the passenger. In case I didn’t feel awful enough after crashing into their vehicle, the first thing they did was open the boot to make sure the two dogs they were transporting were okay. Thankfully, their fur-babies were fine. I was still overcome with guilt. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">They were friendly enough, assuring me it happens to everyone, we’re all lucky it wasn’t a serious prang, do I have insurance, blah blah blah. We took photos of each other’s licenses and number plates and of the damage on both cars. I’d pushed in the back left corner of the Nissan with the front right corner of my Daewoo. The driver of the other car put his hand in the gap between the wheel and the body and pushed the dent back out—only some chipped paint remained as evidence that their car had been damaged. My Daewoo was worse off … the front headlight was smashed, loose pieces of glass and plastic still finding its way onto the bitumen. The right side of the bonnet had buckled and the forward side panel was pinching the driver’s door, so it only opened enough for me to squeeze in and out.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">We exchanged phone numbers and agreed to call it a day. It was starting to rain again and there was no point standing around. The Nissan drove off and I called the friends I was meant to meet for lunch and explained that I couldn’t make it, even though our meeting place was two blocks away from where I was stopped. I thought about calling to get my car towed; the engine might still start, but the car was far from roadworthy with a busted headlight and a door that wouldn’t open properly. But that meant sitting and waiting and paying—and then what? I just wanted to go home. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I got myself onto the bypass again and headed back towards Eastlink. I wasn’t familiar with the area, but damned if I was going to touch my GPS after the cash. I’d been following my GPS’s directions on the way to lunch, but it had detached itself from my windscreen and fallen into the passenger’s foot well. I’d yanked it onto the passenger’s seat next to me as quickly as I could, but in the rush of the moment I hadn’t heard the instruction the GPS’s robotic voice uttered. I glanced at the screen to see the arrow telling me to turn right at the upcoming intersection. What a stupid thing to do. In that split second of looking at the GPS screen on the passenger’s seat, the traffic ahead came to a stop. I looked back up in time to slam my foot on the breaks and at first, I thought everything would be fine. But the road was wet and oily and my little Daewoo slid further than I thought she would—right into the back of that Nissan. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">No, I told myself. No more GPS today. Once I was on the freeway, it would be easy to get home. At least, that’s what I’d hoped. But as I approached Elgar Road, inbound on the M3, I had an awful realisation—there was no exit. I saw the ramp from Elgar Road coming down to merge with the freeway, and the outbound traffic had a ramp to exit onto Elgar Road. But from the inbound lanes, there was no ramp to exit onto that road. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I regretted not setting up my GPS for the drive home. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A few Ks down the freeway, I spotted the exit to Belmore Road and took the turnoff. I still wasn’t familiar with the area, but I knew it was closer to where I lived than the freeway. After a few wrong turns, I found a street I recognised and made it home. The Daewoo sputtered sadly into the garage and the driver’s door made an awful sound when I tried to close it. I would have to call RACV later. I went up to my room and flopped down on my bed, defeated.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></div></div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-26415224235222058752017-07-04T22:21:00.001+10:002017-07-06T17:00:36.291+10:00Old words in a new world<p dir="ltr">My partner and I were recently discussing how people continue to use words and phrases that no longer apply to the context they're used in. For example, I know a lot of people who would say something like 'I saw a film on the weekend', even though most movies use digital cameras instead of film these days.&#160; </p><p dir="ltr">We were driving to the shopping centre at the time of this discussion and another example we thought of was 'wind down the window'. Newer cars have electric controls to press instead of a manual window winder. </p><p dir="ltr">There's something charming about using old words to continue describing things that have outgrown the meaning of the words we use. Or maybe I'm just nostalgic. I'm sure there's a term for words like this but admittedly I do not know it. </p><p dir="ltr"><b>Can </b><b>you think </b><b>of any examples? </b></p><p dir="ltr">-Bonnee <br></p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-61926834595889210162017-06-30T21:10:00.000+10:002017-06-30T21:10:37.559+10:00App review: TideI've had a lot of trouble concentrating, unwinding, and sleeping as of late. Especially after work when I'm supposed to find time to study or be creative (or send out applications to get a job in my field). Last weekend, I decided to check out what free apps I could get on my phone to help me relax or concentrate and I stumbled upon a little gem. <br /><br /><b>Tide: Stay focused, be peaceful</b><br />It's such a simple app and I found it very user friendly. Tide incorporates calming background tracks such as rain or peaceful music with the Pomodoro technique to encourage focus, productivity, and relaxation. The description only talks about it being supported on iPhones, but I have a Samsung and can confirm it works just fine.<br /><br />The Pomodoro technique (which I had not heard of before downloading this app) was created in the 1980s and was traditionally used to break work into 25 minute intervals with short breaks in between (thanks for your help, Wikipedia). Of course, people like to have options and something I think other users might find appealing about this app is the ability to alter the length of focus intervals and breaks to suit your needs. Tide also lets you set a daily 'Focus Goal' and track your daily focus achievements. Want to study for an hour? Two hours? Eight hours?? Set your goal and the app will add up your focus sessions as you go.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9d8bauq2RpY/WVYvtWJAXUI/AAAAAAAABEk/pNcNgxNRAjcP8SZUIL1oRtUwOeX5AaepwCLcBGAs/s1600/Tide%2Blogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="630" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9d8bauq2RpY/WVYvtWJAXUI/AAAAAAAABEk/pNcNgxNRAjcP8SZUIL1oRtUwOeX5AaepwCLcBGAs/s200/Tide%2Blogo.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that pretty logo!</td></tr></tbody></table>I think the visual design of Tide is gorgeous. When you open the app, you'll be greeted by a description of the time of day (e.g. afternoon, dusk, evening) overlaying a simple but peaceful background image. The little 'Start' button sits there, ready to begin timing the first focus session whenever you are. And you get a nice little quote each day, too.<br /><br />Once you press 'Start'? Choose your background sounds. Tide automatically begins to play the sound of the ocean gently lapping the shore, but swipe across to the next panel for some gentle rain, forest sounds, a soft and slow piano track (called 'Muse'), or some cafe background noise. I'm personally not a fan of the cafe track, but I guess some people are into that. 'Rain' and 'Muse' are my favourites. But as I mentioned earlier, people like to have options, and in case these five weren't enough, you can opt to turn off the white noise tracks and do your focus sessions in silence.<br /><br />I've been using this app predominantly for unwinding before bed and rocking myself to sleep, which is probably why I favour the 'Rain' and 'Muse' tracks. I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately and my GP suggested trying to incorporate some meditation and other relaxation techniques into my 'getting ready for bed' ritual. I did complete a few focus sessions earlier in the week with 'Ocean' and 'Forest' too, while I was updating my LinkedIn profile and putting together job applications. I left the focus sessions on 25 minute intervals with 5 minute breaks and I think it's the perfect amount of time. Each time I started the timer and got to work, I told myself I wasn't allowed to look at my phone for a while--and when I did go to pick it up, it was within seconds of the focus session ending.<br /><br />Tide gets a five star rating from me and I'm glad I discovered it this week.<br /><br /><b>Do you have any little gem apps you'd like to share?&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><br />Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-85578734960656232772017-05-28T20:53:00.001+10:002017-05-28T20:53:33.621+10:00Alien: Covenant ReviewMy partner and I went on a spontaneous movie date on the weekend and decided to see <i>Alien: Covenant</i>. I haven't seen all of the&nbsp;<i>Alien</i>&nbsp;films so far, but I saw&nbsp;<i>Prometheus</i>&nbsp;in cinemas and enjoyed the snippets of the other films that I've seen.<br /><br /><i>Alien: Covenant</i>&nbsp;starts on a philosophical note, with a throw-back to the creation of David, the synthetic who was on board the Prometheus. Cut to Covenant, a space vessel on a cross-galaxy expedition to settle a colony on a far-away planet, were Walter is overseeing the day-to-day upkeep of the ship while the crew and colonists are in cryosleep. An unforeseen emergency requires the crew to suddenly wake up and thus begins the action. There is death before we even see any aliens, and although the audience doesn't get the chance to form a bond with the deceased crew member, we do start caring about the crew mates left behind as they deal with the sudden loss.<br /><br />Amidst grieving and repairing the ship, the crew picks up a rogue signal from a nearby planet that looks potentially inhabitable and go in for a closer look; they are excited by the prospect of reaching a planet to colonize, as their original target is still 7 years away. A portion of the crew takes a lander vessel down and soon enough, the audience picks up signs of danger that the characters are oblivious to. After losing half of the ground crew to aliens (in both classic burst-out-of-your-body and maul-the-fuck-outta-you styles), the remaining handful are seemingly rescued by David, the synthetic from the Prometheus, which disappeared ten years early.<br /><br />Naturally, the audience should be suspicious of David, as he tells an overly simplistic tail to explain the fate of the Prometheus crew. He's a little <i>too </i>curious about the colony mission and details like how many colonists the Covenant is transporting. I felt that the newly made captain Oram gave up this information a little too easily and could have exercised better caution in the presence of this stranger. The relationship David tries to forge with the Covenant's synthetic, Walter, is creepy at best and there are alarm bells going off left, right, and centre that David is up to something. The fact that both of the synthetics are played by Michael Fassbender (who does an excellent job, by the way) makes the audience more and more distrustful and we do double-takes in every scene where they both appear. Will David get Walter on board with his insidious plans? Will they do a good ol' switcheroo?<br /><br />One of the highlights of the film for me was when David recites 'Ozymandias' in front of Walter. This is accompanied by a revelation of some of David's horrific actions between arriving on this planet and the arrival of the Covenant crew. Amidst this discussion of creation and perfection, Walter asks David who wrote 'Ozymandias', and David wrongly attributes the poem to Lord George Gordon Byron. The dynamics between David and Walter were certainly my favourite part of the film.<br /><br />The death-tally shot up as the movie drew to a close and sure enough there was a false sense of security before more and more danger was revealed. But I won't spoil the ending. I liked it, so you should go watch it and make your own judgments on the juicy details.<br /><br /><b>Have you seen <i>Alien: Covenant </i>yet? What did you think?&nbsp;</b><br />- Bonnee.Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-24772895649742249932017-05-04T20:32:00.001+10:002017-07-09T16:03:22.755+10:00A Review or Two (or Three)<div dir="ltr">It's been a while since I posted so I thought I'd share some thoughts on recent viewings. Warning: these reviews <i>definitely</i><i> </i>contain spoilers.&nbsp; </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">1. <i>Attack on Titan</i> is back! At long last fans are sinking their teeth into the long awaited season 2. I think I need to re-watch the first season to refresh my memory because it has been SO LONG. The new season kicks off flawlessly from where the previous season ended and didn't miss a beat, but in classic <i>Attack on Titan </i>style, the new episodes raise more questions than they answer. Things are fast-paced and tense and I have spent every episode so far fearing for each character's life (I was <i>so </i>scared for Sasha in the episode she featured in). After the big reveal about Ymir in the most recent episode, we're all taking guesses on which beloved character will be revealed to be a titan next. My friends and I are all in agreement over one thing; the beast titan makes us very, <i>very </i>uncomfortable and it has way too much power and autonomy for a titan. I am eager for the next episode, but I am sure this season will end all too soon. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">2. I saw<i> Guardians of the Galaxy 2 </i>on Sunday night with my partner and some friends from uni (triple date!). I loved the first <i>Guardians </i>movie, but I have learned not to put too much faith in sequels. It wasn't terrible, but it nowhere near lived up to the first movie. Some of the humour was uncomfortably forces, even for satire, and there wasn't enough time devoted to building relationships between the characters, especially Peter and Ego. I did love the heavier themes the film touched on, such as the discovery that Ego had spawned many children in an attempt to create another being who could harness the power of a Celestial, and the fate all those who came before Peter had met. And a well-deserved audible gasp went to the revelation that he had given Peter's mother the tumour that ended her life. Yondu's character development and heroic redemption at the end was heartbreaking and brilliant and I can't pick a favourite character between him and Drax. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">3. My partner's parents got us tickets to see the musical <i>The Book of Mormon</i> for Christmas and our session was earlier this week. Great seats, not far from the front, but by God the Princess Theatre needs to renovate--it's a mile drop into your fold-down chair and you may as well introduce yourself to anyone who needs to get past you to get to their own seat because you can't fit two people past each other without rubbing up the whole length of each other. It is uncomfortable to say the least. But the show itself: that was spectacular. A satirical musical about Mormon Missionaries in Uganda, it pokes honest fun at evangelism and cultural stigmas alike, with songs like 'Hello' and 'Hasa Diga Eebowai'. The cultural stigma related humour was especially uncomfortable, but the musical was unapologetic in its portrayal of confronting matters, illustrating the uselessness of slamming religion down the throats of those trying to deal with horrific circumstances when it doesn't help in any material sense. However, the conclusion which saw the Ugandan villagers find hope in Elder Arnold Cunningham's ... <i>imaginative</i> retelling of The Book of Mormon, based on metaphors involving frogs and <i>Star Wars</i> references, indicated that in times of need people are capable of opening up to advice they wouldn't normally take if they think it might help them through. In this case, the production ended with a reprise of the opening song, 'Hello', but instead of preaching The Book of Mormon, the characters were sharing The Book of Arnold. Overall, quite enjoyable and I haven't been to the theatre in far too long.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">I hope you enjoyed these little reviews. Have you seen <i>Attack on Titan, Guardians of the Galaxy 2</i><i>, </i>or <i>The Book of Mormon</i>? What were your thoughts?&nbsp; </div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-49126074084901942282017-03-04T08:16:00.001+11:002017-03-04T08:16:59.307+11:00Inner Editor <p dir="ltr">In my current call centre job, I am not doing the things I wanted to be doing post-degree. But little editing things keep finding their way into my job.&#160; </p><p dir="ltr">Last week, one of the girls was trying to find a customer's record and they told her they had a hyphenated surname.&#160;She placed them on hold and leaned over to ask me, 'Is this one a hyphen?'</p><p dir="ltr">She was using an apostrophe. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. </p><p dir="ltr">When I showed her where the hyphen was on the keyboard, she said 'But that one is a dash!' I explained that hyphens are a type of dash and forced myself not to talk about en-dashes and em-dashes. Not everyone I interact with is an editor with extensive knowledge of punctuation standards, and that's okay. If it wasn't,&nbsp; the job I am searching for would not exist. </p><p dir="ltr">The second thing at work I keep thinking about is how poorly worded some of our communications letters are. We keep getting confused customers ringing in because 'What do you mean I won't be covered after *insert date*?!' No, no, it just means that is when you are paid up until, you'll be covered after that as long as you pay your next bill. Sorry for the confusion.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr">The new year at university kicks in this coming week and I am taking the editing unit online while I work. I guess I have made the right choice in doing that unit first, and hopefully I can get a job that utilises my editing skills properly sooner rather than later.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr"><b>How are you all going?&nbsp; </b></p><p dir="ltr">- Bonnee.<br></p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-40716893685298091822017-02-18T23:04:00.000+11:002017-02-18T23:04:29.977+11:00Research and search and search <div style="text-align: justify;">Week four of my new full time job at a call center has come to a close, and the weekend is leaving no room for rest. The job is nothing glamorous, but also not so stressful once you push past the initial anxiety of dealing with customers over the phone. It's still exhausting, staring at the computer screen all day and getting used to the hours after the summer of unemployment. The people I work with are the best part of the job though. I think I'm really lucky to have ended up as part of a such a diverse, friendly bunch of co-workers. The management team are all pretty cool too.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The research paper I have been working on is due on 1st March. Do you think my eyes have had the capacity to stay open after work, not to mention focus on words, which my sleepy head then has to try to string together and make sense of? (Hint: the answer is <i>no</i>.) Nevertheless, I've had to kick myself back into gear on the research front this week while my co-writer and I redraft and add to what we have. Less than two weeks to go. My least-favourite part of this is referencing. I'm a natural at Harvard, and my co-writer is fluent in MLA, which means we've both been referencing as we write. The publication we're submitting to uses Chicago notes and bib style, so we have to do a referencing overhaul soon.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jtnkhFiSAJw/WKg3rUkJlSI/AAAAAAAABDg/Z5qImewkKC0LBmVLCBzgL6GD0bzBruQwQCEw/s1600/Alison%2BEvans_IDA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jtnkhFiSAJw/WKg3rUkJlSI/AAAAAAAABDg/Z5qImewkKC0LBmVLCBzgL6GD0bzBruQwQCEw/s320/Alison%2BEvans_IDA.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, I'm searching for time to do other things. Especially reading and writing. And socialising. I miss my friends, and the ease of meeting up when we didn't have conflicting work rosters. I had a chance to catch up with a few of them a couple of weeks ago at a book launch. A friend from uni, who is currently doing their PhD, had a novel&nbsp;published through Echo Publishing at the start of this year. I've managed to squeeze in the first few chapters, and can already tell you it's a great read. Go pick up a copy of <i>Ida </i>by Alison Evans! Now!&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shortly, I will also be searching for a new place to rent, as the lease for the shoe box I'm currently residing in is ending in a few months. There is no way are we sticking around for another year to see if it will fall on us. The landlord has already given notice that the house is going to be demolished in the coming years and they're going to subdivide the property instead. I wonder where I'll find time to go to house inspections and move my stuff.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>What have you been researching/searching for this week?&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bonnee.&nbsp;</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-32354163248595970252017-01-29T15:52:00.000+11:002017-01-29T15:52:22.030+11:002016: A Year in Short Reviews<div style="text-align: justify;">A bit late to the table, but I thought it would be nice to do a wrap-up of the books I read (or tried to read) in 2016, specifically because I finished two of them just this month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8rwfeaH3f1A/WI1yEmmPt5I/AAAAAAAABCU/CP2UcXCaczg1usaVWRhRufKOx6NxsjuZQCLcB/s1600/neverletmego1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8rwfeaH3f1A/WI1yEmmPt5I/AAAAAAAABCU/CP2UcXCaczg1usaVWRhRufKOx6NxsjuZQCLcB/s200/neverletmego1.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Never Let Me Go </i>/ Kazuo Ishiguro</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: incomplete</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was supposed to read this for a class in first trimester, but I never got around to finishing it because I was house-hunting/moving and chose a different text for my main assignment. From what little I read, I want to restart it and finish it in my own time. There was some interesting characterisation and the text dealt with some pretty heavy topics (organ-farming, anyone?).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YBLtnfv4edo/WI1ybx0-3tI/AAAAAAAABCY/Ta0gBoa-O0oF94ajHeuvvVCBZK9jkBbVwCEw/s1600/Black%2Band%2Bwhite%2Bdavid%2Bmacaulay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YBLtnfv4edo/WI1ybx0-3tI/AAAAAAAABCY/Ta0gBoa-O0oF94ajHeuvvVCBZK9jkBbVwCEw/s200/Black%2Band%2Bwhite%2Bdavid%2Bmacaulay.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Black and White</i>&nbsp;/ David Macaulay</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: finished (more than once!)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another one for class. I love a good picture book. This was so clever, and every time I re-read it I would notice new things. I think it's one of the most fun picture books I've ever read as far as piecing the different components of the story together goes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j-v5KugIlc4/WI1y3-mqU0I/AAAAAAAABCg/Ur1XclwRqRch9OW3YNMh7v58pNSBVjhpACLcB/s1600/100demons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j-v5KugIlc4/WI1y3-mqU0I/AAAAAAAABCg/Ur1XclwRqRch9OW3YNMh7v58pNSBVjhpACLcB/s200/100demons.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>One Hundred Demons</i>&nbsp;/ Lynda Barry</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: incomplete</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I focused on specific parts of this graphic novel, again for class. This example of 'autobifictionalography' consists of segments of the author's life which deal with personal demons. Again, some very heavy topics were covered and I cried at some point when reading the section called 'Resilience' after it struck a little too close to home. This is another one I want to go back and read in its entirety in my own time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K7uIimGW6yA/WI1zL8vCqOI/AAAAAAAABCo/ZMqn1TU1jwcCy8eOmMSmBlpiEZCRBiopQCLcB/s1600/the-turning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K7uIimGW6yA/WI1zL8vCqOI/AAAAAAAABCo/ZMqn1TU1jwcCy8eOmMSmBlpiEZCRBiopQCLcB/s200/the-turning.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Turning </i>/ Tim Winton</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: complete</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another one for class. This is a collection of short stories by an Australian author, exploring the turning points in the lives on its characters. Exploring themes of love, loss, betrayal, and family (just to name a few), it was really interested to see how the characters were connected from one story to the next. Once again, heavy themes (I hated reading it at times).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2Z2lVX43HA/WI1zfOffBTI/AAAAAAAABCw/c2y4XIafMfoIx8iL4RTm390AfRN6lR4-QCLcB/s1600/Plains%2Bof%2Bpromise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2Z2lVX43HA/WI1zfOffBTI/AAAAAAAABCw/c2y4XIafMfoIx8iL4RTm390AfRN6lR4-QCLcB/s200/Plains%2Bof%2Bpromise.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Plains of Promise</i>&nbsp;/ Alexis Wright</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: complete</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For class, again. Another Australian story, this time by an Indigenous author. This novel traces the horrific treatment of Aboriginal people by white colonists, starting with St Dominic's Mission and a girl named Ivy. Along with the explicit depictions of racism, the novel also deals with suicide, sexual abuse, and the loss of identity. It also gave insight into Aboriginal spirituality and the meaning of family and community. As a decedent of European settlers, I tried my best to read this with an open mind, and I am deeply ashamed to think that the story depicted was likely true for many First Nation people (and, at least to an extent, still is).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HvnDBt-OIcI/WI1zwKJhF8I/AAAAAAAABC4/qjBmnh80iLkzL7wTZaxTLUOyN6hlMrSuQCLcB/s1600/Dressmaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HvnDBt-OIcI/WI1zwKJhF8I/AAAAAAAABC4/qjBmnh80iLkzL7wTZaxTLUOyN6hlMrSuQCLcB/s200/Dressmaker.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Dressmaker </i>/ Rosalie Ham</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: complete</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I started reading this one late in 2015 after watching the film, starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth. The book is vastly different to the film, more than I was anticipating. To be honest, I didn't like it. The writing felt disjointed and while it dealt with heavy themes, it made me cringe in a way that made me decide I wasn't happy with how those themes were dealt with. However, it was very well researched and the book gave detailed insight into the specifics of fabrics, fashion styles, and sewing, which the movie couldn't communicate in the same way. I powered through and finally finished it this month, but overall it was just okay.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpGpC8YvTm0/WI10EshYpaI/AAAAAAAABDA/NiFX8LoyrwAQ1-C-PXpBtNo-f0yX2mWuQCLcB/s1600/Illuminae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpGpC8YvTm0/WI10EshYpaI/AAAAAAAABDA/NiFX8LoyrwAQ1-C-PXpBtNo-f0yX2mWuQCLcB/s200/Illuminae.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01 </i>/ Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Status: complete</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My bestie secretly told my bf that he should buy it for me and I came home one day to find a hardcover copy sitting on my desk and I freaked out a little. I had been looking forward to it since I saw one of the authors talking about it at a writers event earlier in the year. I dug into it as soon as I finished my Honours thesis and finished it a week or so ago. Oh. My. God. Please go and read this book.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When megacorporation BeiTech attempts to eliminate a competitor, a planet on the edge of the universe is targeted and a fleet of survivors consisting of three space vessels make an escape, with the enemy ship, the Lincoln, in hot pursuit. The story follows Kady (aboard the Hypatia) and Ezra (aboard the Alexander) as the fleet tries to reach safety and outrun the Lincoln. But a plague has broken out on the third space vessel, the Copernicus, the AI that controls the Alexander has gone rogue, and the Lincoln is hot on their tail. Uh-oh! But wait; there's more! This novel dares to push the medium, serving up the story in a dossier of interview transcripts, IMs, emails, military docs, medical docs, diary entries, and surveillance footage summaries (among other things). Overall, it's a rollercoaster, and I loved it. Cannot wait to read the sequel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It wasn't the most dedicated year of reading for me, and admittedly I never get around to reading as much as I want to. But I hope these little summaries will make you add something to your reading list.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Have you read any of these books?&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bonnee.</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-88123356682278043842017-01-15T13:01:00.001+11:002017-01-15T13:01:37.912+11:00The Great EscapeI was having one of those days yesterday where everything was just overwhelming and I was too agitated and anxious to get anything productive done. Job searching, writing a research paper, editing—take your pick, yesterday it was too hard.<br /><br />After refreshing my Facebook feed more times than I care to admit, and staring at a blank document for too long, I decided to find something to distract myself. I was about halfway through reading <i>Illuminae </i>by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff and quite enjoying it, but I hadn't picked it up for a while.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n7LSJ6b_ajM/WHrXz_I7Z2I/AAAAAAAABB4/TgybCGsoaVACfTqplQ1iC7AWsXni3o3zQCLcB/s1600/23395680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n7LSJ6b_ajM/WHrXz_I7Z2I/AAAAAAAABB4/TgybCGsoaVACfTqplQ1iC7AWsXni3o3zQCLcB/s320/23395680.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Sure enough, within a few pages, I was feeling much calmer. Less restless. Lost in the pages while watching a certain Astro-Princess be awesome while an AI dropped a heavy as hell plot twist.<br /><br />It's a really interesting book and it really pushes the medium. The story is mostly composed of transcripts, chat logs, and reports, with a few other bits and pieces thrown in which I won't specify in case of spoilers. Up until that hella plot twist, it was just the right amount of funny to balance out the serious shit. Now it's gotten funny in a much darker way and TBH I'm still recovering.<br /><br />I am glad that books are a thing and it's possible to just escape the world by reading when it all gets too much.<br /><br /><b>What is your favourite book to escape with?&nbsp;</b><br /><br />- Bonnee.Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-31180122058510917972017-01-03T21:25:00.003+11:002017-01-03T21:29:07.627+11:00Drafts from the past<div style="text-align: justify;">Today I stumbled upon this annual opportunity with Text Publishing, <a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/blog/the-tenth-annual-text-prize-is-open-today" target="_blank">The Tenth Annual Text Prize</a>, which is taking submissions targeted at children and young adults until 3 February. I am not hopeful, but I thought it would provide some motivation for me to dust off an old manuscript and edit with a goal in mind.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I opened my NaNoWriMo project from 2013 for the first time since I last edited it in September 2014. And, yikes. Cringe. I've got a lot of work to do. I would like to think that my writing has come a long way since I first typed out WALLS, but I guess there's a chance I am still as terrible at writing now as I feel I was looking back at that manuscript.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am also still job-hunting like a headless chook and working on an academic paper that's due at the end of January, so in all honesty, it's very unlikely I will have edited all 85K+ words of WALLS to the point where I'd be happy to submit it anywhere by the early February deadline. At least I have made a start, and maybe this will get the ball rolling for me again properly.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b>Happy New Year.&nbsp;What are you working on?&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bonnee.&nbsp;</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-84178116045563022392016-12-21T22:50:00.001+11:002016-12-21T22:50:34.345+11:00Gift Ideas for Your Writer FriendsIt could be for a birthday, or for Christmas, or a housewarming. At any time of year, there may be an occasion where you need a good gift idea for a writer in your life. It might be a little easier for writers to shop for other writers, but in case any non-writers are out there thinking of gift ideas for their writerly loved-ones, here are some suggestions.<br /><div><br /></div><h4>1. Notebooks&nbsp;</h4><div>This might seem lame at first, but think outside the box. What does the writer in your life like? Colours? Paterns? Animals? Notebooks come in all shapes and sizes if you know where to look. Here are some of the gems in my collection.&nbsp;</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dh7LhbZBxwI/WFppfuQMiaI/AAAAAAAABBU/TLl__Ybt8KwPLGaQHDF2oeqYLM-NO7EIwCLcB/s1600/20161212_233049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dh7LhbZBxwI/WFppfuQMiaI/AAAAAAAABBU/TLl__Ybt8KwPLGaQHDF2oeqYLM-NO7EIwCLcB/s320/20161212_233049.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /></div><div>I prefer to take A4 notebooks to uni or if I'm writing a story by hand, but I also like a notebook that pops. Typo always has great notebooks with funky colours and patterns and quotes. Here's one with shiny pineapples.&nbsp;</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FK81Qob4WDY/WFpp7x7vcII/AAAAAAAABBY/eSztGW0yfb4e07gUyY6Ss5t2G-LO-NCQwCLcB/s1600/20161212_233128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FK81Qob4WDY/WFpp7x7vcII/AAAAAAAABBY/eSztGW0yfb4e07gUyY6Ss5t2G-LO-NCQwCLcB/s320/20161212_233128.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br /></div><div>This little guy was a gift from a few years back. My partner found it on Etsy and it's perfect for jotting down little one-liners and ideas. Look out little it is next to my hand!</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4hSOeC69zo/WFpqKR0WoaI/AAAAAAAABBc/ZLQKlbZkw7sJVUrQzyOxqMO4k9Ce4zO9gCLcB/s1600/20161212_233140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4hSOeC69zo/WFpqKR0WoaI/AAAAAAAABBc/ZLQKlbZkw7sJVUrQzyOxqMO4k9Ce4zO9gCLcB/s320/20161212_233140.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />I got this one for myself earlier in the year when I saw it at Officeworks. The cover is made of wood, with an owl stenciled into it with hot pink card attached to the other side to make it pop, and the branch has a bumpy texture too. I haven't decided what to use this one for yet. Possibly a little writing reflection journal?&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>You could also turn this into a budget-friendly gift by putting it together yourself. Get something nice and sturdy for the cover and some craft glue to put the pages in, or if you're feeling super crafty, stitch it together! Mix up the paper you include inside, with some lined, some blank, some grid paper—look for different textures and patterns to make it unique. If you're a bit arty, you could design the cover yourself, or you could decorate it with some funky book coverings.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><h4>2. Stationary.</h4><div>A lot of writers use a computer these days, but that doesn't stop us carrying around a notebook. And if we have notebooks, we need pens, and possibly other stationary. So get your writer friend some colourful, good quality ball-point pens or gel pens, depending what you think they might be into. Or get them a gift card for their favourite stationary shop, like Smiggle. Typo also does some funky stationary, with novelty pens galore. Personally, I have more pens than I have room for in my pen-jar ... but they're bloody good pens!&nbsp;</div><h4><br />3. Gift vouchers to their favourite book stores.&nbsp;</h4><div>People who write books almost definitely read books (and if they don't, they should!). A gift-card to the local Dymocks or Readings store, or their favourite specialty book store, will never go astray.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><h4>4. Subscriptions to literary journals.&nbsp;</h4><div>I love seeing writers support other writers and the publications of their local literary industry. Find out what magazines or journals your writer friend might be interested in—just make sure they don't already have that subscription!&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Pro tip: Keep an eye out for subscribe-a-thons; I subscribed to 6 Australian literary journals in October, who were all participating in a discounted joint-membership deal.&nbsp;</div><h4><br />5. Memberships to a writers group or organisation.&nbsp;</h4><div>Writing groups and organisations give the opportunity to engage with a wider writing community. Whether it be the writers club at your university, or your state's primary writing organisation—if your writer friend isn't already a member, and you think they'd like to be, sign them up.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>You all know I ran a writers club at my university for a couple of years there. I'm also a member of Writers Victoria, and would never want to stop being a member with them because they run so many excellent events all the time.&nbsp;</div><h4><br />6. Tickets to a workshop, reading, or other writerly event.&nbsp;</h4><div>Sometimes, writing groups and organisations run events. Or your local literary festival is just around the corner, and you know your friend would like to go to one of the workshops or attend a certain author's reading. Maybe you could even find something you'll both enjoy and go together! This year I saw Jeanette Winterson read an excerpt from her novel <i>The Gap of Time</i>, following by an entertaining question time at the end.&nbsp;</div><h4><br />7. Send them to a writers retreat.&nbsp;</h4><div>If you've got the room to spend big, research writers retreats or residencies that your writerly friend might be interested in. For example, some of the cells at the Old Melbourne Gaol can be hired out as writers' studios, which I think is pretty great and would definitely like to try some time. Maybe the writer in your life would prefer a cabin in a forest, or a little house overlooking the sea.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>So there are a few gift ideas for any occasion your writerly friend might be celebrating. Or if you are a writer, you could use some of these suggestions to treat yo'self.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What are your favourite gift ideas for writers?&nbsp;</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Bonnee.&nbsp;</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-58505163139551326712016-11-30T23:55:00.001+11:002016-12-01T00:20:57.005+11:00Aussie adventures <p dir="ltr">I've been on a few little adventures in the last couple of weeks.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr">First, I was invited on a spontaneous road trip to Loch Sport where I hung out near a beach and a lake and got a little sunburned. There was lots of junk food and drinks. Good times were had. </p><p dir="ltr">The weekend just been was spent at Phillip Island with two of my best mates from uni, significant others included. Of course, our thesis results were FINALLY released as we were driving there, and I am happy to brag that I did amazingly (I literally pulled over to check my results)! It was not great beach weather, but we went to the wildlife sanctuary where we hand fed some wallabies, kangaroos, and ill mannered emus. And all weather is good weather for a chocolate factory visit&nbsp;(note: do not leave chocolate in a car on a hot day). And the Penguin Parade.&nbsp; It's not a trip to Phillip Island without the Penguin Parade.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y_qL-O7Db6k/WD7RiZerLGI/AAAAAAAABA0/o50E2BlLv8c/s1600/20161126_150501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: sans-serif; text-align: center; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y_qL-O7Db6k/WD7RiZerLGI/AAAAAAAABA0/o50E2BlLv8c/s640/20161126_150501.jpg"></a><br></p><p dir="ltr">Look at the cute little pademelon and its baby! Squee!&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, today I spent a couple of hours bush walking in the Dandenong Ranges with the bf. It was supposed to be a 7-8km hike, but we were rudely interrupted by the sound of distant evacuation sirens which we only determined was a nearby school doing a fire drill AFTER heading back to the main picnic grounds to see if there was a need to leave. Better safe than sorry. Still a fun day.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr">I need to pull my finger out and start writing things now, get out of holiday mode. My honours supervisor and I are writing an academic paper for a peer reviewed anthology together for fun, but I know it's going to be a bit more work than I've put in so far and I want to do my best.&nbsp;Also, back to general writing endeavours. I NEED to write/edit things.&nbsp; </p><p dir="ltr"><b>What have you guys been up to</b><b>? How are your NaNo projects and other WIPs? </b></p><p dir="ltr">Bonnee. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-70725582392994127842016-11-15T22:53:00.001+11:002016-11-15T22:53:39.740+11:00So you know how I said I finished uni ...? In the midst of all the job hunting, attempts at writing, and finding places to submit, I ended up talking to my Honours course director. Who also happens to be the course director of the Masters of Writing and Literature.<br /><br />Aaaaaaaannnnddddd I enrolled in Masters for 2017.<br /><br />Apparently, I don't want to stop being a student. My enrollment is still a bit messy. My Honours thesis marks haven't been finalised yet, so I haven't got all of my Credit for Prior Learning registered. But I am definitely going to be able to fast-track the Masters to (hopefully) just one year of coursework towards a Creative Writing specialisation, with editing and publishing units to boot.<br /><br />I am still job-hunting, but have re-secured a place on the <i>WORDLY </i>team again. Honestly, I wish I had made this decision before the Writers Club AGM, because I would have LOVED to stay on the executive committee for another year. Alas, a new team was elected in September, and although they're a little relieved to hear that I'll be sticking around to support them, I don't want to take this great learning opportunity away from them by over-imposing myself on my old role. I'm excited to see what they'll do with the club and the magazine (and let's be honest, it'll be nice to attend a magazine launch without having to stress over a running-sheet or if we budgeted for enough food).<br /><br />I was going to hold off confessing this piece of news until my enrollment finished sorting itself out, but it's been over two weeks since I applied, and nearly two weeks since accepting the offer. I think I've been patient enough. Let's see if I can keep up the blogging at least until I start back in March.<br /><br /><b>How are your writerly endeavours going? NaNoers? All others?&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b>Bonnee.Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-62296620042875224942016-11-02T22:43:00.001+11:002016-11-02T23:06:44.605+11:00Good Luck NaNo-ers! <p dir="ltr">I've decided not to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I am in the midst of redirecting my life and I think it's about time I went back to edit some of my old manuscripts instead of cranking out something new. </p><p dir="ltr">But I wanted to wish everyone who is participating this year the best of luck! No matter whether you're in it to win it, or just having a bit of writerly fun with a ridiculously supportive online community. Be proud of whatever you accomplish this month and know that it's okay if this isn't your year, or if it just isn't the right way for you to produce a creative work.&#160; </p><p dir="ltr">Now get off the Internet and write!&#160; </p><p dir="ltr">- Bonnee. </p>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-84230240175271956162016-10-13T16:43:00.002+11:002016-10-13T16:43:12.902+11:00Keeping it Tea-gether <div style="text-align: justify;">My sister came down with tonsillitis last week and my immune system is doing everything it can to stop me from coming down with it too. I've been coughing and waking up with a sore throat since the weekend and producing more snot and phlegm than usual, but I have not let it knock me down. Hopefully I'm past the thick of it and will start feeling better soon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had a stroke of luck over the weekend and scored an interview for a content writing position. But in the end, I decided it wasn't for me—the recruiter was a self-publishing platform, and the deal-breaker for me was that there was no editing process. As an editor, I didn't feel comfortable signing up for that, so after a 45 minutes Skype interview I decided to withdraw.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddm9eBJKWAk/V_8dyidTFjI/AAAAAAAAA_k/Syc8j-pblnMXtLdmb6OznDJ7BvQtHo9GACEw/s1600/teacup-1252115_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddm9eBJKWAk/V_8dyidTFjI/AAAAAAAAA_k/Syc8j-pblnMXtLdmb6OznDJ7BvQtHo9GACEw/s400/teacup-1252115_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also decided to start writing a review of all the tea in my cupboard. Incredibly pretentious, I know, but I needed to write about something and thought it would be good for a bit of fun. I own 10 different types of tea at the moment and am constantly looking for more. I have a problem. Don't judge me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Otherwise, this week has been mostly dedicated to working. Lots of working. I think it's dangerous for a writer to work in an academic library, especially at a university with a good writing and literature course. Even though my studies are over (for now), I still managed to come home with four library books about editing and literature in the past fortnight. Oh well.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>How are your writerly lives going?&nbsp;</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bonnee.</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-1426952930294112752016-10-03T23:23:00.000+11:002016-10-03T23:23:11.706+11:00Out of Touch<div style="text-align: justify;">In the past year, I've done a whole lot less creative writing than I'd like to admit. Between writing my Honours thesis, staying on top of the coursework, moving houses, editing for the student magazine, and working, I've barely had spare time to write. Not to mention enough energy. I have legitimately been wishing for days to have more than 24 hours in them over the past year.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm hoping this lack of time to write will be alleviated now that uni is over. I've now handed in my thesis and my final essay, so the coursework is done. I'm tying up loose ends with the student magazine before I part ways with it (so emotional), which means I'm not going to have anything to do in the way of editing, except where my own work is concerned.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My job at the library is continuing on a casual basis, which is nice. I enjoy working there. My dilemma at the moment is whether to look for some casual/part-time editing work to fit around it, or to spend that extra time on my own projects, at least for a little while. Both, would be nice, but perhaps not with immediacy. It would be nice to relax and have a little time for myself, though I definitely don't want to be away from the editing scene for too long. Let's face it—that's where my heart is on the professional side of the coin.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tVz7m4n7aks/V_JNZGpz9aI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/pmzFCw9mLuQ25AsbWEA5KSLsgrqV0MCIwCLcB/s1600/pencil-1203982_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tVz7m4n7aks/V_JNZGpz9aI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/pmzFCw9mLuQ25AsbWEA5KSLsgrqV0MCIwCLcB/s400/pencil-1203982_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the writing I've produced this year has been academic, and I am damn proud of the thesis I produced. I'm not done with academia just yet, but I'll elaborate on that in another post. Aside from essays and a thesis, most of the rest of my writing this year has been articles and nonfiction. Most of it is also under a pseudonym. There was one exception to all the non-creative writing very early in the year, where I stayed up til 3AM to crank out a short story that wouldn't get out of my head. I was proud of it, redrafted it a couple of times and submitted it to a lit journal who rejected it and got back to me with some really good constructive feedback that I'm hoping to use to redraft again. But I miss working on long-form fiction. I want to get back to revising <i>WALLS</i>&nbsp;or one of the other manuscripts I finished back in high school. Maybe my head is clear enough now.<br /><br /><b>How do you get back into the swing of things?&nbsp;</b><br /><br />Bonnee.&nbsp;</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2372161360756471399.post-33440371066867482732016-10-01T16:56:00.002+10:002016-10-01T16:56:57.508+10:00So let's try this blogging thing again<div style="text-align: justify;">I have been a very bad blogger since ~2014. I am sorry, but uni/work had to come first.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The thing is, I have now finished uni. Almost. On Friday, I handed in my Honours thesis, and I'm one essay away from complete freedom. It's exciting and daunting. I'm glad it's over, but I'm going to miss it. And most saddening of all, I am in the handover process for the student magazine and writers club, saying goodbye to my role in a community I've grown so incredibly attached to.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've got a steady casual job at the Deakin Library, and I wouldn't mind a little editing gig somewhere. But most of all, I want to take a bit of time to focus on my own writing now that I'm not nose-deep in thesis and other assignments, or completely over-committed with other extra-curricular activities.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't know where this road is going to take me, but I'm excited to find out. To quote one of my dad's favourite bands, 'Life's a journey, not a destination', and I can't wait to see where I end up next. (That was Aerosmith, btw.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here I am, looking into the blogosphere once more. I want to start writing one post a week and reconnecting with the amazing people I used to follow. Maybe make some new friends along the way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Hi. How are you?&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bonnee.&nbsp;</div>Bonnee Crawfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01513268628209169538noreply@blogger.com2